For As A Preposition

The preposition for has many meanings including the following:

For: intended to belong to

• This letter is for you.
• Reserve a seat for me.

For: in place of

• I offer you new lamps for old.

For: in defence of; in favour of

• He fought for his country.
• Are you for or against the proposal?

For: as far as, as long as

• We walked for five kilometres.
• They waited for two hours.

For: towards; indicating destination

• They sailed for the pacific.
• A train for London

For: because of

• They could not see for smoke.

For: at a cost of

• You can buy this for $1.

For: indicating purpose

• Let us go for a walk.
• What is this tool for?
• They chose him for their leader.

For: indicating liking, suitability, skill etc.

• She has a good year for music.
• Junk food is bad for health.

For structures after adjectives

The structure for + object + infinitive is common after certain adjectives which express wishes and other personal feelings.

Examples are: anxious, eager, delighted, willing, reluctant, vital, necessary, important, common, normal, pointless, unusual, rare, right, wrong etc.

• I am anxious for him to get a good job.
• We are delighted for them to come and stay.
• She is eager for us to see her work.

With preparatory it

For-structures with preparatory it are common with many adjectives expressing possibility, necessity, importance, urgency, frequency and value judgments.

• It is important for the party to be a success.
• It is not necessary for you to wait any longer.
• It is essential for them to earn while they learn.
• I thought it strange for her to be out so late.
• It isn’t easy for me to let him go.
• It would be risky for you to attempt it.
• It would be dangerous for them to indulge in such activities.

For structures after verbs

Certain verbs are normally followed by for. Examples are: ask, hope, wait, look, pay, arrange etc. We can use infinitives after them.

• I can’t wait for them to finish talking. (NOT I can’t wait them to finish talking.)
• Can you arrange for the goods to be delivered soon? (NOT Can you arrange the goods to be delivered soon.)
• I arranged for her to have violin lessons. (NOT I arranged her to have violin lessons.)

Certain verbs like suit, take etc., can also be followed by a for-structure.

• It only takes ten minutes for me to walk to the office.
• Will it suit you for us to call on Sunday?

Note that a for-structure cannot be used in object position after verbs.

• I requested her to help me. (NOT I requested for her to help me.)
• She wanted me to clear her doubts. (NOT She wanted for me to clear her doubts.)

Other uses of for structures

For-structures can be used after nouns which express wishes and other personal feelings. Examples are: time, a good/bad idea, plan, aim, need, request, mistake, shame etc.

• It is time for everybody to go to bed.
• It was a shame for them to lose the match.
• There is a plan for Alice to spend a year in China.

After something, anything, nothing etc.

Something, anything, nothing, and similar words are often followed by for + object + infinitive.

• Have you brought something for me to eat?
• Is there anything for me to do?
• Is there anybody for Alice to play with?

After too and enough

A for-structure is often used after too and enough.

• The tea was too hot for me to drink.
• The bag was too heavy for me to lift.
• It is now too late for us to begin the new lesson.
• I explained enough for her to understand what was happening.

For-structure as subject or object

The for-structure can be the subject of a clause.

• For us to fail now would be a disaster.

However, it is more common for a structure with preparatory it to be used.

• It would be a disaster for us to fail now.